for the birds

We live in Birdland.

In Baltimore we split out fandom between our baseball team and our football team.

In the spring and summer, it's all about the Orioles.  In the fall and the winter we are dedicated to the Ravens.

I once saw a billboard that said, "We bleed orange in summer and purple in winter.  It's weird."

It's funny, but so true.

It's convenient that the stadiums are right next to each other.  It makes it easier for the Birdland faithful to make their pilgrimage.

Here's a shot I took from the air when I was in the helicopter:

This time of year is that very special time when the teams' schedules overlap.  The Orioles are winding down their season as the Ravens are starting theirs up.

Usually the Ravens are a welcome distraction from whatever slump the Orioles have gotten themselves into over the course of the spring and summer.  It's a well known fact that the Ravens have been infinitely more successful in their sixteen years here so far than the Orioles have in the past sixteen years.  In fact, since 1996 the Ravens have gone to the playoffs eight times, while the Orioles have only made the postseason once.

HOWEVER, this year the Orioles are actually having a great season!  So instead of drowning our Orioles' sorrows by downing beers at a Raven's tailgate, we are actually excited about BOTH teams...at the same time!

This past Thursday night Sadira and I had plans to go to the Ravens preseason game against the Jags. We were very much looking forward to it, since this was our first Ravens game of the season.

During work on Thursday, my friend Leah won four tickets to the Orioles game against the Blue Jays on Friday night.  Leah generously offered Sadira and I two of her tickets.  Of course we couldn't say no!

Back to back nights.

Back to back games.

Back to back birds.

That's how we do in Birdland!

Thursday night:

Friday night:

Here's to hoping 2012 really IS the...

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phursday phavorite photo: high flying sisters

My middle sister (Neda, 21) and baby sister (Tessa, 15) flying high above the bay, last weekend.  I got to spend time with them last week, and I feel like I'm going through withdrawal this week.  Most of the time I can't even let myself think about how much I love them, cause it makes me cry for no reason, and then that's super awkward, cause I can't even explain why I'm crying. 

So, I'll just suffice it to say I love them extremely a whole lot times infinity.

And they are freakin' hilarious to be around.  I hit the sister jackpot.

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today i sold sadie's toybox

Craigslist post: "Step 2 toy box with blue closing lid, in great shape. We've outgrown this toybox, but we've loved it for over three years. Dimensions are 29L x 19D x 22H. $20, pick up only. I live in East Baltimore, near 95. Please email to respond to this post.  Thanks."

Today I sold Sadie's toybox.

Simple sentence.

No big deal.

Nothing major.


In recent months it felt like we didn't have as much use for the toybox as we previously had.  Sadira's most favorite things to play with are her arts and crafts, her Leappad, or her books.  And while she still enjoys playing with toys that live in her toybox (Mr. Potato Head being her main man), it seems like there are less and less toys to store in the toybox these days.  Most have found homes in her pink room. 

I decided about a month or so ago that we'd use the brown ottoman to store her toys.  I had been stashing extra blankets and pillows in there--nothing that couldn't be moved into the hall closet.  It's a bit smaller than the toybox, but very sleek, fits our needs, and remarkably hides all of the toys.

Seemed like it was just time, and we had outgrown the toybox.

I posted the toybox on Craigslist a few weeks ago, and had several offers.  Timing didn't always work out, people didn't show when they said they would, a few tried to lowball me and knowing there was adequate interest, I refused.  I kept thinking I should either re-post it or delete it.

But I didn't. 

I just left it posted there.

And then yesterday a lady named Melissa emailed me.

"Hi, is the toybox still available?"

I told her it was.  She was very interested, and lived close to my office.  I told her if she was serious about purchasing it, I'd bring it to the office with me today and she could pick it up here. 

Better for her because it's closer to her home.

Better for me because I don't like strangers from Craigslist knowing where I live.

We arranged a time, and this morning at 10:15 my desk phone rang.

"Hi, it's Melissa.  I'm here to pick up the toybox?"

I told her I'd be right down.


Today I sold Sadie's toybox.


I bought the toybox in 2008.  It was Christmas night and we had just returned home from my Grandmother's house.  Sadira was 13 months old and was gleefully enjoying the fruits of her first "real" Christmas.  Since she was only 7 weeks old for her actual first Christmas in 2007, she hadn't remembered much.

I surveyed the contents of my living room.  There were toys EVERYWHERE.  I had always been adamant that there would be "NO VISIBLE TOYS IN MY LIVING ROOM!"  But in that moment, I felt like I was losing the battle.  Up until this point in her life all of Sadira's toys could be neatly stashed in her room or the basement playroom.  But as I stood in the room that once resembled my living room, I couldn't help but feel like I was living in Toys 'R Us. 

Something had to be done.

I took to Craigslist. 

And after a few clicks I found what I wanted.  A kid's toybox that was mostly neutral in color, had a small shelf on the top, and fit the dimensions of the space I had available next to my stairs.  It wasn't garish with heinous colors, it wasn't shaped like a butterfly or a frog, it didn't have Dora the Explorer plastered across the front.

It had been posted that day and I sent the email immediately.

"Hi, I'm interested in your toybox.  Is it still available?"

I got a response the next morning.  It was still available, but there were several inquiries about it.  I was the first, and if I could pick it up that day it was mine.

It was $20.

Knowing there were other interested parties, I wasn't going to haggle.  Plus, it was exactly what I wanted and $20 for exactly what you want is actually quite a steal.

The next day Sadira and I piled in the car, and drove 15 minutes away to pick up the toybox.  The mom who sold it to me seemed wistful.  Her son was TEN.  She had had it for EIGHT YEARS.  It was in impeccable shape.  She told us how much he had enjoyed it.

In less than two minutes we had purchased the toybox, but I noticed the mom seemed to hang back and watch us pack it up.  She called off to Sadira, "I hope you enjoy your new toybox!  Take good care of it!"

She seemed so...attached?

I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed that she was watching us drive away.

I remember thinking, "geez, lady it's just a toybox..."

What a silly thing to get so wistful about...


Today I sold Sadie's toybox.


The toybox has lived in our living room now for over three and a half years.  There were always two things in the living room that were exclusively Sadira's--her red PBK Sadira chair, and her toybox with all her wordly possessions and treasures inside.

When her friends would come over, all the kids would all instantly tear into the toybox and rip out the contents.  And when it was time to go all of the moms would announce in a chorus, "time to clean up! Everything back in the toybox!"

Sadie and Sean made a habit about a year ago of completely emptying the contents so they could both climb in and "hide" together.

During Snowmageddon a few years ago Sadira and I were housebound for over a week.  We were SO SICK of being stuck in the house, and apparently Viv Cat was tired of sharing her space with us as well...because after a few minutes of searching the house, thinking she was "lost," we found her curled up in Sadie's toybox, snuggled next to a strawberry shortcake doll.

And every year, on the day after Christmas, Sadira and I would go through the contents of the toybox and decide what we were going to keep/donate/toss.  I always found it was easier for her to let go of toys she had outgrown (but still loved) when she had just received fun brand new Christmas gifts.

By it's very purpose in our home, this toybox became the center point of so many fun memories.  Memories with friends (kids playing, while moms sat on the sofa chatting and drinking wine), memories of holidays (sorting through old toys and replacing them with new birthday and Christmas gifts), and memories with our family of two...coming home after a long day at work, and not having the energy to go outside or to a friend's house, but wanting to spend some quality time with Sadira, we'd sit on the floor and pull the toys out of the toybox, and chat about our day together.


Today I sold Sadie's toybox.



I met Melissa in my office parking lot.  Her adorable son was jumping on her passenger seat as we introduced ourselves.

I told her it would be just a minute for me to grab the toybox out of my car.

I walked over to where my car was parked, retrieved the toybox and brought it back over to her.

She packed it up in the trunk as I asked how old her son was.

"Sixteen months," she said.  She grabbed her wallet, "twenty dollars, right?"

I nodded and she handed me cash.

I looked at the little boy, "I hope you enjoy your new toybox. Take good care of it!"
 
In less than two minutes they had purchased the toybox.  I walked back into my building and looked out the window so Melissa wouldn't see me watching them as they drove away.   



Today I sold Sadie's toybox.


The toybox that I bought for $20 four years ago, just sold for $20 to a new family.  It seems so silly to get wistful over a piece of kid's furniture.  But now, as I'm sitting here in a melancholy mood, I suddenly understand why that mom whom I bought it from in 2008 seemed so attached.

It's not because of a toybox.

It's because it's a little piece of Sadira's toddler-hood that I just sold and watch drive away.

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30 favorites: the old school water toy

Let me tell you something.

(Warning, this may start to sound like a "when-I-was-a-kid-I-had-to-hike-2-miles-to-school-in-the-snow-uphill-both-ways" kind of story).

When I was a kid, we didn't have these expensive ridiculously priced outdoor water toys.  We didn't.

Maybe we did, but none of our parents bought them, I dunno.  But the fact of the matter is, we didn't need them.

Because we had this magical thing called a HOSE that seemed to work just fine to keep us cool and happy in the summer.

For the past few years Sadira's had several variations of the small plastic wading pool in the backyard.  Each year I consider getting a swim club membership, but with our busy schedule and Sadira's conservative attitude towards big girl swimming I just haven't found it to be appropriate for us yet. 

But I knew she had outgrown the small baby pool.


So I wanted to find something that was a little more fun, interactive, and would actually cool ME off too.

What I wanted was a SPRINKLER!


But when I went to store to find one, it seemed they had all been replaced by plastic, overpriced crap.

See?

Plastic crap:

 

Overpriced plastic crap:

 But it's PRRRRIINCCCEEESSSS!!!!!

Eye Roll.

Gag.

All I wanted was a freakin' sprinkler.

So I went up to a store associate and asked.  "Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find a sprinkler?"

He walked me over to a shelf that contained (more) plastic crap and said, "here ya go."

Not exactly what I was looking for, so I said, "no I'm actually looking for the regular metal kind.  You know what I'm talking about?  Like a metal oscillating sprinkler?"

"Oh, I don't know if we sell metal ones for kids to play with.  Probably too dangerous."

Too dangerous?  

Oh these kids today....

Not willing to accept defeat, I asked, "alright, can you tell me where I could find sprinkler if I wanted to water my lawn?"

Suddenly he knew what I was talking about, and directed me to the lawn and garden section.  All the way on the other side of the store. In the corner.

And there it was.

A metal oscillating sprinkler.

For $4.99.

HAAAAAALLLLEEELLUUJJJAAHHH!!!!

This sprinkler has provided so much fun for us this summer.  And the best part is?  It's not a piece of plastic crap so it'll last longer than one year.

Today "Thirty Favorite" item costs less than a Starbucks Venti Frappucino, but is worth five times that.

Regard the fun we had for $4.99...

And that's just a small sampling.  Sadira has enjoyed that sprinkler at least twice a week since we bought it in June.  Sean and Lillian have joined her in the fun.  So have neighborhood kids.  So has Sutton, and Lauren.  So have I on almost every occasion.

It may just rank up there as the best purchase of the summer.

...and can probably be found on clearance in the lawn and garden section of some stores at this point in the year.

Moral of the story?  Newer is not always better.  Don't be fooled by fancy packaging with smiling children on the outside.  Plastic crap is still plastic crap.  And good ol' fashioned fun doesn't have to be expensive.

 

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music monday: who run the world?

This goes out to all the women getting it in,
Get on your grind
To the other men that respect what I do
Please accept my shine
Boy you know you love it
How we're smart enough to make these millions
Strong enough to bare the children
Then get back to business

After spending time with my sisters I always feel a little "Girl Power"'ish.  Especially when I see what awesome, strong, independent young women both of my little sisters are becoming.

We had lots of talk this weekend about future, and goals, and creating your own destiny, and going after what you want, and not relying on other people to provide for you to get there.

I'm so proud of them.

And glad that Sadira has some awesome role models right in her very own family to look up to.



And sometimes Beyonce's the only way to get you through a Monday.

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friday flashback: janet takes new york!

22. Get Janet to New York. - DONE!

This Friday Flashback is brought to you courtesy of my own procrastination.  There is something else I planned on posting today, but it may be a little too heavy of a topic to blog about right at the moment...so I'm procrastinating and writing about something ELSE that I had already procrastinated about and didn't finish.

Wheeee procrastination!!!

But this IS something else that is fun :-)

This is Janet:

Janet is my awesome daycare provider.  Sadira's been going to Janet since she was 18 months old.

I met Janet through Kerri.

This is Kerri (and me):

Kerri is my friend of many years, and her son Sean (BooBoo) is Sadira's best friend.  Kerri and Sean frequently are found on this blog.

This is Erica:

Wait.  That picture doesn't really sum up Erica's personality very well..let's try this again...

THIS is Erica:

That's more like it. ;-)

Erica has two children, Vinnie and Gigi, who both went to Janet's for years.  Gigi is just a few months older than Sadira, and they started at Janet's at almost the same time.

This is Sara:

Sara is Janet's eldest daughter.

This is Miranda:

Miranda is Janet's youngest daughter.

Janet's friend Donna and her daughter Jenny also came along.

(This is Donna...with Janet, not Jenny):

So anyway, this story starts a long long time ago, when Sadie and I had returned from one of our many trips to New York City.   Sadira was telling Janet all about the M&M store (her favorite place) and at some point Janet mentioned she had never been to New York before.  

Stop the presses.

Never been to New York?  How could that be?

We had to change that.

So from that point, it was decided that we would get Janet to New York.  I talked to a couple of the other moms (Erica and Kerri) and we all agreed that we wanted to do something special for Janet and take her on a day trip with her girls to New York.  Originally it was going to be a birthday present, but September (Janet's birthday month) ended up being way too busy, so we postponed til April.

We took an early bus up.  It was supposed to rain all day, but we got lucky.  It actually didn't rain until we boarded the bus to come home. :-)

It was a looong day, but very fun.  And Erica got to love up on the Naked Cowboy, who despite our many trips to NYC, I had never seen "in the flesh" before.

Our day is probably best told through some pictures...

 

Janet, like most moms, doesn't take the time out very often to do something fun for HER.  So even though we were tired and sore after a long day walking around in the city, I was so glad we could organize this day for HER.

I hope you enjoyed your slice of the Big Apple, Janet!!!

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